Theater briefs

Steve Kazee, left, and Cristin Milioti are shown in a scene from 'Once,' in New York. Producers of the hit show said Tony Award-winner Steve Kazee and Tony-nominated Cristin Milioti will leave the show after Sunday's performance.

New leads take over next week in 'Once'

Producers of the hit show said Monday that Tony Award-winner Steve Kazee and Tony nominated Cristin Milioti will leave the show after Sunday's performance.

That date will also mark the end of the run for original cast members Will Connolly and Elizabeth A. Davis, who earned a Tony nomination as a supporting actress.

Ben Hope, who has playing the role of Guy since Kazee went out on vocal rest, wins the part on a permanent basis. Laura Dreyfuss will take over from Milioti as Guy's love interest.

Like the film, the musical features songs by Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard, including "Falling Slowly." It won eight Tonys last year, including the best musical honor.

Tony Awards back at Radio City

The Tony Awards are going back to the place where the Rockettes high-kick it.

The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, joint producers of the show that honors the best of Broadway, said this week the glittery event will be broadcast live by CBS from Radio City Music Hall on June 9. Nominations will be announced April 30.

Producers of the show were forced to find a new home for the 2011 event after Cirque du Soleil moved into the 6,000-seat Rockefeller Center arena with its $50 million acrobatic rock opera "Zarkana." The Tonys had been hosted at Radio City from 1997-2010.

For the past two years, the Tonys were handed out at the Beacon Theater on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The venue was much smaller, having only about 2,870 seats, leading to ticket-rationing and a struggle to seat the often large amount of show producers.

The decision to return to Radio City, where the Grammy Awards, MTV Video Music Awards and the ESPY Awards have previously been hosted, was made easier when "Zarkana" left this past summer.

Last year's telecast at the intimate Beacon, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris and which saw "Once" crowned as best musical, was seen by 6 million viewers, down significantly from 2011's 6.9 million. It was also the second-lowest ratings for the Tony Awards since 1988, though it was up against the season finale of AMC's "Mad Men."